The Bihar police on Tuesday registered a FIR against 400 villagers for brutally torturing three motorcycle-snatchers. But police officials denied media reports claiming residents of Vardaha village in Nawada district had gouged out their eyes.

Nawada district's Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar said that reports about the villagers piercing and gouging out the three men's eyes were false.

The three motorcycle-snatchers had to be admitted to a government-run hospital after being badly thrashed by the villagers. The three men were aged between 18 and 20 years. They were caught by a mob at Vardaha, after they threatened a man with a gun and took his motorcycle.

"The man whose motorcycle was taken used his mobile phone to inform a relative residing in a nearby village and alerted him about the three men," said the police.

According to the police, an angry mob nabbed the three men and started punching and kicking them. The angry villagers let go of the men only after a police team reached the spot and took them in their custody.

SP Kumar said that a probe has been ordered into the incident.

Last month, a chain snatcher was beaten by a mob, tied behind a motorcycle and dragged for miles by policemen in Bhagalpur district. The public outrage over the incident had forced the Bihar government to suspend the two concerned policemen and order a probe.

A team from the National Human Rights Commission visited Bhagalpur last week to investigate this incident.